U.s. 27 Lanes Expected To Reopen

HAINES CITY -- Two lanes of U.S. Highway 27 just north of Interstate 4 remained closed Thursday after inspectors noticed the pavement was sagging dangerously low.

One of the southbound lanes of U.S. 27 was closed Wednesday afternoon, and state Department of Transportation officials initially feared the depression was a sinkhole, spokeswoman Maryemma Bachelder said.

Inspectors determined Thursday afternoon that the sagging was caused by utility work that county workers were performing underneath the road Wednesday, Bachelder said. DOT inspectors were on the scene to monitor the project when they noticed the road was lowering near the median. They immediately shut down the inside southbound lane.

Later Wednesday evening, they shut down the second southbound lane, routing southbound traffic through one of the northbound lanes. Workers also periodically stopped traffic to allow cars to clear from the I-4 exit ramp to avoid backups on the interstate.

On Thursday afternoon, DOT crews filled the space underneath the road with a cement and soil mixture, which needs only four hours to solidify and allows workers to pave over it, Bachelder said. She said they hoped to have all lanes open by midnight Thursday.